The rate of inflation in Colorado and other western states eased again in April, with a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase in consumer prices, down from higher yearly rises in previous months, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday.

For the first time in months, gas and other transportation-related costs were not the biggest factor in the region’s inflation rate, as gas prices have eased recently, the report said.

It’s the seventh straight month that the West’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a slightly smaller increase from the previous year than the month before, dating back to September 2011’s year-over-year rise of 3.5 percent. The regional CPI’s year-over-year increase was 2.4 percent in March, 2.5 percent in February and 2.6 percent in January.

Month over month, the western-region CPI rose 0.2 percent from March to April, following a 0.9 percent rise from February to March.

The CPI, compiled by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a closely followed gauge of inflation. The index measures the cost of typical consumer expenses, from housing to haircuts.

The index for the western states isn’t seasonally adjusted, so year-over-year comparisons are considered more valid than month-to-month changes that may be affected by normal seasonal price shifts.

In April, apparel costs were the biggest contributor to the West’s year-over-year CPI increase, rising 4.4 percent. Medical costs were up 2.9 percent and transportation costs rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier.

Apparel costs also rose the most month over month in the western states, up 1.2 percent from March.

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